Suchergebnisse

Counting roaring stags during the rut has been proposed as a means to assess deer population size and trends but few, if any, attempts have been made to evaluate the reliability of this technique. By means of a commonly used field protocol, we assessed to what extent relative abundance estimates of red deer (Cervus elaphus) based on roaring-stag counts in the northern Apennines (Italy) were susceptible to exogenous and unpredictable sources of variability. By using up to 26 simultaneous observers in an area of 5218 ha, we estimated densities from 0.45 to 0.61 roaring stags per 100 ha in 3 consecutive years (1992–94), corresponding to annual changes in the number of counted roaring stags ranging from –21% to +35.7%. However, only in two of the three years were seasonal trends and peaks in roaring activity apparent, and timing of the survey was not always synchronous with the roaring peak. In addition, annual and nocturnal variation in roaring activity, and weather conditions during the survey, might have influenced the counts to some extent, probably determining high Type I and Type II error rates. We contend that additional sources of error, associated with unknown demographic and ecological settings, may further increase unreliability of the technique when it is used to estimate absolute density of red deer populations. We conclude by emphasising that managers should not use this method for population monitoring unless they can prove it can yield reliable results.

Context. Compensation programs have become a common tool to mitigate conflicts between farmers and large predators; however, their effectiveness is based on a series of assumptions that should be carefully and continuously assessed within an adaptive management framework. Ex-post compensation programs were adopted in Italy as a financial incentive to aid wolf conservation since the 1970s; however, their implementation has never been monitored nor actively managed in the past 35 years, during which time a remarkable recovery of wolf population and range expansion into more human-dominated landscapes has taken place.
Aims. We hereby report on wolf-damage compensation programs in Italy and discuss their conservation value.
Methods. We used data on wolf-damage compensation that we compiled at the national scale for the period 1991–95. Although not recent, these were unfortunately the only available data at the national scale, and were instrumental in supporting our discussion on compensation programs, as these are increasingly becoming a politically and economically sensitive issue.
Key results. From 1991 to 1995, annual compensation costs represented on average 86% of the alleged losses to farmers, and averaged €1 825  440 (±169 760 s.d.), or about €5150 (±750) per wolf per year. Compensation costs varied markedly from region to region, although local differences were hardly explainable in terms of wolf densities and their trends at the regional scale. On the contrary, they appeared largely affected by inconsistencies in rules and procedures of regional compensation schemes.
Conclusions. In the light of persistently high occurrence of wolf–livestock conflict, and widespread illegal killing of wolves, we argue that compensation programs in Italy currently provide no evidence of being a functional and cost-effective conservation tool. However, lack of monitoring of compensation costs in Italy at all institutional levels, including non-government organisations (NGOs), reveals that compensation policies are not being evaluated, nor is their effectiveness being assessed.
Implications. We contend this is an unwise and unsustainable strategy to reduce the conflict, especially in the light of the recent increase in wolf numbers and, most importantly, a marked change in livestock husbandry practices. By emphasising the need for a thorough revision of the compensation schemes adopted for wolf conservation in Italy, we advocate new and theoretically sound solutions to current compensation policies.

Although mammals are often seen as important objects of human interest and affection, many are threatened with extinction. A range of efforts have been proposed and much work has been done to try to conserve mammals, but there is little overall understanding of what has worked and why. As a result, there is no global-scale, coordinated approach to conserving all mammals. Rather, conservation efforts are usually focused at jurisdictional levels where relevant legislation and policies are in force. To help build the framework for a global-scale approach, in this paper we review the many ways that have been proposed for conserving mammals. First, we examine the overall pattern of threat faced by mammals at the global level. Secondly, we look at the major structuring issues in prioritizing and planning mammal conservation, examining in particular the roles of values and scale and a set of approaches to conservation, each of which varies along a continuum. Finally, we lay out the steps necessary to move from planning to implementing mammalian conservation.

A key controversy in conservation is the framing of the relationship between people and nature. The extent to which the realms of nature and human culture are viewed as separate (dualistic view) or integrated is often discussed in the social sciences. To explore how this relationship is represented in the practice of conservation in Europe, we considered examples of cultural landscapes, wildlife (red deer, reindeer, horses), and protected area management. We found little support, for a dualistic worldview, where people and nature are regarded as separate in the traditional practice of conservation in Europe. The borders between nature and culture, wild and domestic, public land and private land, and between protected areas and the wider landscape were blurred and dynamic. The institutionalized (in practice and legislation) view is of an interactive mutualistic system in which humans and nature share the whole landscape. However, more dualistic ideals, such as wilderness and rewilding that are challenging established practices are expanding. In the context of modern day Europe, wilderness conservation and rewilding are not valid for the whole landscape, although it is possible to integrate some areas of low-intervention management into a wider matrix. A precondition for success is to recognize and plan for a plurality of values concerning the most valid approaches to conservation and to plan for this plurality at the landscape scale.

To address the ongoing global biodiversity crisis, governments have set strategic objectives and have adopted indicators to monitor progress toward their achievement. Projecting the likely impacts on biodiversity of different policy decisions allows decision makers to understand if and how these targets can be met. We projected trends in two widely used indicators of population abundance Geometric Mean Abundance, equivalent to the Living Planet Index and extinction risk (the Red List Index) under different climate and land-use change scenarios. Testing these on terrestrial carnivore and ungulate species, we found that both indicators decline steadily, and by 2050, under a Business-as-usual (BAU) scenario, geometric mean population abundance declines by 18–35% while extinction risk increases for 8–23% of the species, depending on assumptions about species responses to climate change. BAU will therefore fail Convention on Biological Diversity target 12 of improving the conservation status of known threatened species. An alternative sustainable development scenario reduces both extinction risk and population losses compared with BAU and could lead to population increases. Our approach to model species responses to global changes brings the focus of scenarios directly to the species level, thus taking into account an additional dimension of biodiversity and paving the way for including stronger ecological foundations into future biodiversity scenario assessments.

To address the ongoing global biodiversity crisis, governments have set strategic objectives and have adopted indicators to monitor progress toward their achievement. Projecting the likely impacts on biodiversity of different policy decisions allows decision makers to understand if and how these targets can be met. We projected trends in two widely used indicators of population abundance GeometricMean Abundance, equivalent to the Living Planet Index and extinction risk (the Red List Index) under different climate and land-use change scenarios. Testing these on terrestrial carnivore and ungulate species, we found that both indicators decline steadily, and by 2050, under a Businessas- usual (BAU) scenario, geometric mean population abundance declines by 18–35% while extinction risk increases for 8–23% of the species, depending on assumptions about species responses to climate change. BAU will therefore fail Convention on Biological Diversity target 12 of improving the conservation status of known threatened species. An alternative sustainable development scenario reduces both extinction risk and population losses compared with BAU and could lead to population increases. Our approach to model species responses to global changes brings the focus of scenarios directly to the species level, thus taking into account an additional dimension of biodiversity and paving the way for including stronger ecological foundations into future biodiversity scenario assessments.

To address the ongoing global biodiversity crisis, governments have set strategic objectives and have adopted indicators to monitor progress toward their achievement. Projecting the likely impacts on biodiversity of different policy decisions allows decision makers to understand if and how these targets can be met. We projected trends in two widely used indicators of population abundance Geometric Mean Abundance, equivalent to the Living Planet Index and extinction risk (the Red List Index) under different climate and land-use change scenarios. Testing these on terrestrial carnivore and ungulate species, we found that both indicators decline steadily, and by 2050, under a Business-as-usual (BAU) scenario, geometric mean population abundance declines by 18-35% while extinction risk increases for 8-23% of the species, depending on assumptions about species responses to climate change. BAU will therefore fail Convention on Biological Diversity target 12 of improving the conservation status of known threatened species. An alternative sustainable development scenario reduces both extinction risk and population losses compared with BAU and could lead to population increases. Our approach to model species responses to global changes brings the focus of scenarios directly to the species level, thus taking into account an additional dimension of biodiversity and paving the way for including stronger ecological foundations into future biodiversity scenario assessments. ; Peer reviewed

We present the results of a process to attempt to identify 100 questions that, if answered, would make a substantial difference to terrestrial and marine landscape restoration in Europe. Representatives from a wide range of European governmental and non-governmental conservation organizations, universities, independent ecologists and land managers compiled 677 questions relating to all aspects of European landscape restoration for nature and people. The questions were shortlisted by an email vote, followed by a two-day workshop, to produce the final list of 100 questions. Many of the final questions evolved through a process of modification and combination as the workshop progressed. The questions are divided into eight sections: conservation of biodiversity; connectivity, migration and translocations; delivering and evaluating restoration; natural processes; ecosystem services; social and cultural aspects of restoration; policy and governance; and economics. We anticipate that these questions will help identify new directions for researchers and policy-makers and assist funders and programme managers in allocating funds and planning projects, resulting in improved understanding and implementation of landscape-scale ecological restoration in Europe.

We present the results of a process to attempt to identify 100 questions that, if answered, would make a substantial difference to terrestrial and marine landscape restoration in Europe. Representatives from a wide range of European governmental and non-governmental conservation organisations, universities, independent ecologists and land managers compiled 677 questions relating to all aspects of European landscape restoration for nature and people. The questions were shortlisted by an email vote, followed by a two-day workshop, to produce the final list of 100 questions. Many of the final questions evolved through a process of modification and combination as the workshop progressed. The questions are divided into eight sections: conservation of biodiversity; connectivity, migration and translocations; delivering and evaluating restoration; natural processes; ecosystem services; social and cultural aspects of restoration; policy and governance; and economics. We anticipate that these questions will help identify new directions for researchers and policy-makers and assist funders and programme managers in allocating funds and planning projects, resulting in improved understanding and implementation of landscape-scale ecological restoration in Europe.